Town needs development with 1,800 new homes, says MP

An MP said plans to build 1,800 homes in a town were needed to tackle a housing crisis.

Steffan Aquarone, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, backed the project in North Walsham, saying he received daily emails from people desperate to find suitable housing.

He admitted, however, that improvements to local services and infrastructure were also needed, which has led some local leaders to oppose the plans.

An application has been submitted for the first phase of 437 homes in the scheme, and North Norfolk Council is expected to decide on the proposals later this year.

Aquarone said: "We've got hundreds of families who can't grow, can't move out of their parents, are in temporary or no current accommodation.

"We have a real housing crisis here in North Norfolk.

"That's not to say we don't need to pay very close attention to these plans to make sure the infrastructure the town needs comes first."

Known as the North Walsham urban extension, the 259-acre site is earmarked for about 1,800 homes, care accommodation, a primary school, open space and employment land.

At a meeting on Tuesday, North Walsham Town Council voted to oppose the project.

Lucy Shires, a Liberal Democrat county and district councillor for North Walsham, also raised concerns.

In a letter to North Norfolk District Council, she said she recognised the need for new homes but feared health services would not be improved to meet demand.

She said: "Existing services are already operating under pressure, with North Walsham experiencing higher than average levels of long-term health conditions and an ageing population requiring complex care."

The Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care System said health services in the area needed to increase capacity to cope with population growth.

Together with the ambulance service, it has requested a total of £2,282,106 of Section 106 funding from the developers.

Another sticking point is the roads in Coltishall to the south.

Jerome Mayhew, Conservative MP for Broadland, said a big increase in traffic travelling on the narrow bridge over the River Bure could cause safety problems.

He said the road already creates a "significant bottleneck" with vehicles striking the crossing and struggling to pass other drivers on the B1150 road through Coltishall to Horstead.

But Aquarone said North Walsham has good public transport links, including a railway station.

"I think one of the reasons that North Walsham has got the capacity for this level of growth is its access to public transport," he said.

"That's what we all need to be using to get to work in the city, for instance, if we're going to save money and also contribute towards tackling climate emissions."

A spokesperson for the consortium of developers and landowners behind the project said improvements to infrastructure would be delivered.

It said it is in talks with the NHS about funding improvements to local health services.

Road upgrades are also proposed, including a new link road to connect Norwich Road and Cromer Road and upgrades to the Aylsham Road railway bridge and B1150 in Coltishall.

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